The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-10-02
Railroad Accidents.

In the last six or eight months the mum
Der Of railroad accidents has been unusually
large. Many of them have been of a very
serious character, and one of them, that near
Chatsworth, involved loss of life almost
without precedent in this country.
Many Of these accidents have, no doubt,
been caused by poor condition of tracks or
rolling stock, and some from the carelessness
Of employees. The loss to the railroad COM
panies has been enormous and the public
has been so impressed that it is not at all
improbable that in some States laws will be
passed intended to constrain the companies
to make certain changes in their cars and
roadbeds which will lessen the danger of a
sudden and horrible death to travellers.
Startled by the terrible catastrophes at
White River Janction, Vt, and Upton,
o., the New York Legislature has already
passed a law compelling railroads
after this winter to adopt some means of
heating their GERS other than by stoves
Two of the Long Island roads will have a
system of steam heating in operation this
winter, and if it prove successful it will
probably be adopted by all the other roads
Of the State
But the danger from fire, though the most
horrible to contemplate, is not that which
most constantly threatens. To Judge from
recent accidents, the greatest danger is from
weak or improperly constructed bridges,
and this is a subject with which the law can
deal effectively. Only day or two since
a passenger train fell through a trestle on
the Mobile and Ohio road and thirty
people were injured, while all news
paper readers remember the accidents at
White River Junction, Bussey's Bridge and
Chatsworth. All of these were caused by
bridges being of defective construction CT
built Of improper material, and by them
perhaps 400 people were killed or wounded
The possibility of such accidents could be
reduced to almost nothing by proper sys-
TEN of inspection and law compelling the
use Of indestructible materials in the build
ing of all bridges. The enforcement of such
a law might for a time strain the resources
Of the poorer roads, but in the end it would
be good thing for them, as well as for the
travelling public.
In this connection, it may be said that
one reason why railroads are not improved
faster and made safe, is to be found in the
fact that the men who control them are in
many cases not practical railroad men, but
mere Spectators in their stocks. In re-
cent article in the Chicago Journal
Rev. David Swing refers to this fact, and
his remarks upon it are so forcible that they
are here appended:
THE educational power of the railway is
kept back by the pitiable truth that many
of its officials are not students of a great
art, but are only spectators in land or
stocks, when not absolute thieves Quack
railroad men are more numerous than
quack doctors. Good men are discharged to
make room for favorites, and thus fortunes
and life are placed at the mercy of unframed
minds.
THE railway service is no doubt suffer
ing much from the presence of officials who
know more about money and luxury than
they know about bridges and roadbeds.
Under the rule of these captains the receipts
from all traffic flow toward New York, and
soon the bank account is large and the road
worn out and dangerous. The income is
the main thing, the art nothing.
Some roads are managed by railway
art. The President himself could run 10
connective, or construct a bridge, or keep
awake at a switch. These roads are under
the control of the railway intellect and not
OF the champagne and private car genius
May the time soon come when so tremen-
douS thing as the railway shall be man
aged by the new kind of intellectual force
called railway brain.